Rena Elle Couture — Local services in Maple Shade Township

If I were just rating the seamstress, Ms. Marianna, I'd give the place 10 stars if I could, she is an angel and did an AMAZING job on my dress. Her customer service was AMAZING. However, I give it one star for all the hassel I was put through from another employee and how my dress was ordered in the wrong size. I had Diane as my consultant, and although she has a nice demeanor I received unnecessary stress which was frustrating and disappointing. I tried on the sample size Stella York dress in a size 14 ivory in February 2016, so its safe to assume that when it was ordered I'd at least receive a size 14. My wedding was this past June 2017. I don't remember getting measured at all (but that's another story), but the dress that came back WAS NOT a size 14. The style of the dress is form fitting and trumpet style and the material does not give--- I could not get that thing on!! At the first fitting I told Ms.Marianna and Diane that I gained weight so maybe that was it. But even after losing 11 lbs after the first fitting (about 6 weeks before my wedding) it did not fit. At the second fitting Diane had an idea for me to put on the sample dress to illustrate how she didn't think Ms. Marianna let the seams out like she said she did. Well, I tired on the sample, and IT FIT. How did the sample--of a dress that has no give- fit but not the dress that was ordered?? Marianna took the dress home again to make alterations. Diane didn't communicate anything to Marianna because Marianna didn't know that I tried on both dresses on the same day and the sample fit. I had a phone conversation with Diane two days before my wedding because there was no way that the dress that was ordered came in as a 14. Diane said with the measurements that she had on file for me (which I don't remember) I was 3 inches bigger than the recorded measurement but it was not over the maximum measurement for the dress. Marianna is a great seamstress and she did way more work that a 3 inch let out. Diane said sometimes the manufacturer makes a mistake and the bridal shoppe measures it but now she couldn't because its already altered--- this was at least the day before my wedding!!! She did nothing to help the situation, nothing to accommodate me, no reassurance, only "I'm sorry, you can talk to the manager if you want...". Which I did, that night, while Ms. Marianna was at my house- on her own time, to make sure the dress would fit correctly and look gorgeous. I told Ms. Marianna that she was a God send because she didn't have to go out her way, stay in contact, come to my house, etc, but she did. I hope her manager and the company knows how valuable she is. As for Diane, she did nothing to make the situation right.Don't put your special day in her hands. She said that I was upset with Marianna, that I had kept calling there complaining when I wasn't.I didn't need to call the shop, Marianna gave me her phone number for reassurance, questions, etc. I should not have heard all the bad mouth about Marianna from Diane, that's UNPROFESSIONAL and I hope the shop addresses it. Marianna did a GREAT JOB and I had no doubt about her,...

• BRIDES BEWARE * I would not recommend this shop to anyone. Honestly, I would have been better off getting a dress from David’s Bridal who at least was honest and transparent when it came to wedding dress expectations. I came to Rene Elle in June to purchase a dress for my wedding in September. I found a dress that I liked but had reservations about the bead work and detail on the body of the dress because I am petite and would need significant alterations length wise. I was told not to worry, it was simple alterations work. They took my measurements and tried to tell me to order a size 8 or 6, well off my normal dress size but I thought this was normal for a wedding dress. July rolls around, the date that I was told my dress would arrive had passed. I did not hear anything so I called and ended up leaving a message on a Thursday. Got no call back Friday. Tried to call again Saturday, was told my dress was on order status still and I would get a call on Monday with more information. Got no call Monday. Called Tuesday, left another message asking for a prompt call Wednesday at opening. Had to call myself again only to find out my dress that was on order status on Thursday is now miraculously at the shop. At this point, I lost faith and decided not to trust them with alterations. I picked up my dress only to find out it was huge. The bodice was no wear near my size. I easily could have sized down at least 2 dress sizes. Additionally, the work to alter the length of the dress is extremely labor intensive. Due to the size discrepancy and the labor to alter the length I am paying $1,800 In alteration fees. This is after seeing 3 seamstresses and going with the most cost efficient option. I feel completely taken for. First and foremost, I would trust an “expert” in this field to make their consumers aware of what would be involved with alterations to make a dress like this fit properly. Especially when I had asked directly and had expressed the budget that I was looking to stay in. Second, I feel like this shop had purposely ordered a dress too large so that I would have to spend more on alterations for the bodice (makes sense since they do their own alterations). Especially knowing that they tried to convince me to order a dress in an even larger size than the one I received. I was in tears after trying on my wedding dress that they ordered. It was even more disheartening to hear how expensive it will be to make this dress fit. Unfortunately, I am left with no options because my wedding is in 2 months. I can not order another dress, nor can I return this one. This has been a truly awful experience. I would hate for anyone else to feel the sadness and frustration that I have. This is supposed to be a happy time, but yet I have spent my weekend in tears trying to find a resolution.

If the shop reads this and would like to make it right, I would be surprised. There was no apology when they failed to call me back numerous times. It also seems that I am not the only consumer they let down. Save yourself the heartache and take your...

I went to this shop today with my future daughter in law. We were initially welcomed and encouraged to browse the showroom. They eagerly accepted walk ins as we had 2 appointment cancellations elsewhere which was very disappointing. As we browsed the store we noticed they had a very limited selection. My Daughter in law selected 3 dresses initially and we were not looking at the cost, nor were we asked what our budget was. However, the person who waited on us was eager to take our selections to the dressing room and very happy to assist us. Another assistant, turned around and said to our assistant that the last dress she was taking off the rack for us was 4k and looked up and down at my daughter in law as if she couldn’t afford it and implied she was overweight and commented that all the dresses are made 2 sizes smaller and basically nothing in the store would fit her. She doesn’t even wear plus size clothing. Meanwhile an Asian customer was standing on the platform in a dress that was way too big for her and looked like the top of a soft serve swirly ice cream cone and she didn’t look much thinner than my future daughter in law. But that same attendant which was hers didn’t say a word about how hideous she looked. My FDIL quietly begged me to leave as this entire incident was terribly upsetting but because our assistant was so professional despite these comments, I encouraged her to try on one last dress for me that I saw which appeared to be a timeless classic, which she obliged. Regardless of the fit, the dress was absolutely gorgeous on her and our assistant discussed all types of alteration options. The dress happened to be discontinued and 1/3 the price at $500.00. An absolute steal for the quality. However, we were surprised that they did not have appropriate dress sizes to try on based on the dress selected as other stores do. More importantly, we were both disappointed in how this other assistant treated my future daughter in law. While she may have dressed comfortable and casual to try on dresses, and has a medical condition that affects her sensitive skin, I hope this assistant reads this review and understands to never judge by appearances and that some people purposely dress down for a reason. We showed up in a Mazda for sentimental reasons but I own a Porsche. We have two very successful family businesses, one being multi-state and also come from a medical background. Money was the least of our concerns regarding the perfect dress to complement my future daughter in law. Do not waste your time here unless you are looking for the dress I mentioned. There is no transparency on the cost of alterations either. Place should close up in my opinion. Unfortunately 1 star had to be selected but this place is a zero in my book and that rotten attendant should be fired and our attendant 5 stars as she carried herself with grace and ignored the other woman’s inappropriate comments....